Gyula VarosyGreenwich, NY

Gyula Varosy, makes sculpture from tree trunks, old structural beams and fragile pieces of wood that have had many lives before. He often incorporates bronze elements in his work and generally uses slate as a base. This time, slate plays a pivotal role in his powerful, four-foot high sculpture titled Quarry Guard, which was created especially for Slate as Muse.

The figure is ever-present in Varosy's collection of forms that resonate hardship, yet also perseverance and triumph. “The slate came from an odds and ends pile at Ritchie Brothers Slate in Granville,” says Varosy. “I had also been buying tiling/paving slate from them over the years. I thought I would use the odd pieces eventually...and the time came with the Slate as Muse Exhibition.....” “The stone itself dictated and generated some of the form for the piece,” says the artist. “Construction, addition and subtraction is my usual sculptural process and proximate components have a very intense relationship with the different materials, emphasizing this even more.” “I have worked with marble in some of my pieces,” says Varosy, “but have found slate to be a more resistant participant, at least mechanically. It's more directional, harder and less predictable Like wood, slate has its irregularities – you just have to find out and work with it. Quarry Guard it has produced some interesting surprises...so slate will most likely appear again in my work.” # # # # #